Sidi 5, Road vs MTB

ive already got some nice shimano road shoes that i got for a steal, but now after trying a freinds sidis out, i have shoe envy and want some for myself. the shimanos were my first proper bike shoes.

basically i want to know if there is any diffrence between the road and MTB shoes other than the extra grip on the MTB version. are the road versions stiffer? is walking in the road versions bearable?

i want a road shoe that i can walk in. im not going to do much walking, and i dont plan on wearing them off the bike for any period of time, but it would be nice to not have to change my shoes imediatly after getting off the bike. with my current shoes i cant even walk the distance from the bike rack to my locker at work in them. but with this said i dont really like sacrificing performance.

road
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Sidi_Genius_5_Pro_Road_Cycling_Shoe/5360037991/

MTB
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Sidi_Dominator_5_Lorica_MTB_Cycling_Shoes/5360037998/

If you are doing minimal walking get road shoes. A little bit of walking get mtb shoes.
You can get race mtb shoes if you want ultra stiff shoes for power but it's not really worth it.
I have a pair of road shoes I use for long road rides and a couple of mtb shoes I use for anything else. I actually went back to SPD and not road setup on my winter bike and I rode SPDs and not my SPD-SLs in France.

I have both those shoes you listed. No way I'd ride the Genius in London. There's no point. All this guff about performance.. ride faster. If you start placing in races then worry about your shoes.

Just out of interest do you ride with road or mtb cleats?

Genius I ride with SPD-SL
Dominators I ride with SPD (I've not actually used these yet) I currently ride cheap Specialized MTB shoes with SPD but bought the Dominators to get a similar setup commuting as on the roadie.

did you go back to SPD's for any other reason than to use diffrent shoes?

yeah i know about all the performance guff, but with my lack of experince with shoes i dont have a clue to whever theres much diffrence between the two.

the main reason im buying the sidis is that they were alot more comfortable than my current shoes, and just plain felt better. i dont ride in london, and my riding is all done in the country and a bit of suburbia.

I reverted to mtb shoes. Didn't really notice any increase in performance with the wider platform - but if you're being competitive, you definitely need a stiff sole with 2-bolt cleats.

Shit happens, and I don't have a team car to pick me up. Recessed ATL :)

The larger surface area of road cleats offer less chance of hot/burning spots on the balls of your feet when doing long distances.

If your doing any amount of walking go for mtb as shelling out for new cleats wears thin after a while.

Genius I ride with SPD-SL
Dominators I ride with SPD (I've not actually used these yet) I currently ride cheap Specialized MTB shoes with SPD but bought the Dominators to get a similar setup commuting as on the roadie.

this one?

^they are shit!

The sole flexes that much it pretty much negates being clipped in.

noticed that not many places stock Dominator5s in normal sizes.. Think we'll get Dominator6 soon for 2010?

^they are shit!

The sole flexes that much it pretty much negates being clipped in.

me and my father have those for years actually, but then again, it's our first and last clipless shoes...

I use Sidi Genius with SPD-SL. Its best to use something like Kool Kovers/Koffee Kovers when walking for further than 5m :), although its still like walking around in high heels (i think)

BTW, CRC is way cheaper for Sidi

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Brands.aspx?BrandID=126

On blackberry so can't see anything. Wiggle had dominators for 125 or so. Basically if you're asking this kind of question you will get on much better with spd + dominators. Save road shoes + spdsl for racing and proper high mileage.

this one?

me and my father have those for years actually, but then again, it's our first and last clipless shoes...

I have some of the above and some dominator 5's.

I found the Specialized's comfy, good value and fine for 90% of riding, but living in London's mountainous North London with such peaks as Swaines Lane and Ally Pally on my commute, I find the Sidi's so much beter on the hills both from a power transfer perspective and also for pulling up with your foot on steep hills. If it was all flat near me, I would have stuck with the Specializeds.

As for mtb pedals for distance, I think a lot of people on spd's and time atacs did Dunwich (me included) with no problems.

this one?

Nope. More like this..

Not so sure about the performance thing, but stiffer soles and a larger connection area (3 hole), both aid comfort over long distance and help stop hotspots.

I'd say get a pair of walkable shoes for running errands etc. and a pair of stiff road shoes for longer rides. Shoes wear out anyway, so there is no real extra cost in running a couple of pairs at the same time. In fact they will probably give you more (and better) miles per £ in the long run.

I have Crankbros on my bikes, eggbeaters on commuter, and quattros on the fixed (am buying candys for the SS 29er).
I have a pair of flash carbon road shoes with 3hole quattro cleats and a pair of touring shoes with eggbeater cleats.
This gives me nice flexibility.

The touring shoes (Lake CX120) have rubber lugs for walking yet are still compatible with 3hole cleats.

BTW Probikekit have a Sidi sale on.
http://www.probikekit.com/advsearch.php?aquery=sidi&instock=no&start=0&limit=78

Nope. More like this..

i got these & still Lasting nearly 2Years of riding, mad weather and the odd piss spillage over shoes.. They still Rock

2 years isn't that long for a pair of cycling shoes. I tore the tongue on mine in the first week and the front is a bit loose after a stack. My Nike shoes were still going strong after 10 years (many thousands of miles on them in all weather). I sold them when I got these.